Spreader



April 21, 1942. c. M. HARVEY SPREADER 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 19, 1940 /INVENTOR Cye/s T/AN M HARVEY 5 K MM ATTORA/fi Y- April 21, l942. c. M. HARVEY 2,280,234

SPREADER Filed Feb. 19, 1940 4-Sheets-Sheet 2 April 21, 1942. c. M. HARVEY SPREADER Filed Feb. 19, 1940 4 Sheets-'-Sheet 3 April 21, 1942. R E Y 2,280,234

SPREADER Filed Feb. 19, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 .54 3mm. CHe/sr/A/v M HAW Patented Apr. 21, 1942 azsazss sraaansn Christian M. Harvey, Cleburne, Tex. Application February 19, 1940, Serial No. 319,721

4 Claims.

This invention relates to a spreader and has particular relation to a machine for spreading sand and loose earth.

In building concrete highways it is now common practicev to cover the road base, after it has been saturated with water, with a coating of asphalt and to cover the asphalt with a layer of sand. The plastic concrete of the roadway is then laid over the sand. The road bed as thus formed will retain the moisture which will prevent the bed from cracking in dry weather. It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide a sand spreader whereby the sand may be spread over the asphalt layer the full width of the roadway base and at a uniform thickness.

It is another object of the invention to provide a spreading machine of the character described forming a complete unit in itself which may be readily hitched to the truck supplying the sand and moved by said truck along the roadway while the sand is being delivered from the truck to the hopper of the spreader.

It is also common practice to cover the concrete roadway, immediately upon the laying thereof, with loose earth, of the required thickness, while the concrete sets and before the road is opened to traffic. In other words, the concrete is cured while covered with earth. It is another object of the present invention to provide a machine that may also be used for covering the green concrete roadway with a uniform layer of earth to protect the concrete until the same has set.

With the above and other objects in view the invention has particular relation to certain novel. features of construction, operation and arrange- 1..

ment of parts, an example of which is given in this specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 shows a side view of the type of machine specially designed for spreading sand shown hitched to a truck and partly in section.

Figure 2 shows a plan view thereof.

Figure 3 shows an enlarged, fragmentary, ,plan

sectional view taken on the line 5-4 of Figure 3.

Figure 6 shows an enlarged, fragmentary. plan view showing the delivery conveyor specially de- 5 signed for conveying and distributing earth.

Figure 9 shows atplan view of a complete machine designed for the delivery of earth, and

Figure 10 shows a side elevation thereof. Referring now more particularly to the drawings wherein like numerals of reference designate the same parts in each of the figures, the numerals I, I designate side members of the carriage of the sand deli very machine which is supported on front and rear wheels 2 and On this carriage there is mounted a motor 4 having a forwardly extended drive shaft 5. Mounted on the forward Figure 7 shows a side elevation thereof partly in end of said carriage there is a receiving hopper 6 having a relatively lower front wall as shown in Figures 1 and 5 so as to readily receive sand from dump body I of truck 9 to which said carriage is coupled and by means of' which the machine is moved along the roadway. As the sand is gradually unloaded from the truck body said body may be elevated by a conventional elevating means 8a so as to graduallydischarge the sand into the hopper 6 as the machine moves along.

Mounted on the side members of the carriage and extending laterally underneath the hopper 6 there is a chute designated generally by the numeral I0 and which extends on out a suflicient distance to span a roadway II as more clearly shown in Figure 2. This chute has side members Ilia, Ilb. The side member Ila extends up above the-level of the upper margin of the side member iilbs This is illustrated more accurately in Figure 4 and also in Figure 8. The outer ends of the side members Ilia, Illb are anchored to a suitable bracket I2 which is provided with a spindle I! on which a carrier wheel I4 is mounted to rotate. The chute I0 is maintained in transverse relation with the carriage by means of a cable I5 which is attached at one end to the forward end of the truck and at its other end to the forward side of the bracket I2.

Fastened to the outer sides of the side members I, I preferably by welding, are pairs of brackets l6, l6 and I1, I1 provided with horizontal bearings I8, I8 and IS, IS, respectively. The chute. as is obvious, may extend out in either direction from the carriage. In the present illustration it is shown extended outwardly to the right and the side members Ifla, Illb are pivotally attached to the brackets It by means of spindles 20, 20 which are extended through the bearings ll, II and through corresponding bearings in the adjacent ends of the side members Ila, lIib as'is clearly shown in Figure 4. on opposite I sides of the hopper there are upstanding transverse guides I I 2i which are fastened to the side members I, I and which are in substantial alignment with the corresponding side members Illa, lob.

Mounted in the bearings I9 is a transverse shaft 22 and fixed on said shaft between said bearings is drum 23. The rear end of said shaft 22 is extended and fixed on said extended end are sprocket wheels 24, 25. Fixed on the forward end of the shaft is a sprocket wheel 28 which is aligned with the sprocket wheel 25 and operating over these aligned sprocket wheels and transmitting rotation from the former to the latter there is a sprocket chain 21. At the outer end of the chute I there is a drum, similar to the drum 28 in Figure 7 and which is fixed on a shaft as 29 which is rotatable in suitable transversely aligned bearings in the side members of the chute. Fixed on one end of said shaft 29 there is a sprocket wheel 38 which is aligned with the sprocket wheel 24 and operating over these aligned sprocket wheels there is a sprocket chain 3| which transmits rotation to said sprocket 38 and to the drum 28. shown in Figures 2 and 3 there is an endless conveyor belt 32 which travels between the side members 2|, 2| and the aligned side members Illa, IUb. This belt is driven by the drums 23, 28. The upper run of the conveyor belt 32 is supported by a series of transverse rollers 34 mounted between the side members 2|, 2| and "la, Illb, as clearly shown in Figures 3 and 4. The return run of the belt 32 is supported against sagging by means of shoes, such as 35, 35 as shown in Figure 7 which are swung from the side members of the chute Ill. The sand will be delivered as required into the hopper 6 and will fall down ontothe conveyor belt 32 and will be continuously moved along the chute Ill while the spreader is moving forwardly at the required speed.

The chute M has a series of deflectors 36. The forward ends of these deflectors are anchored to the side member lllb of the chute. They are spaced apart along the chute and diverge forwardly with respect to the line of travel of the conveyor belt 32. They are blade-like in shape as illustrated in Figures 3 and 4. They extend rearwardly from the side member lflb, each defiector extending rearwardly the required distance further than the deflector behind it. The inner ends of the deflectors are anchored to a diagonal bar 31 whose forward end is fastened to the inner end of the side member Illb and whose rear end is fastened to the side member la. The lower margins of the deflectors 36 are closely adjacent the upper run of the conveyor belt 32. This upper run of the conveyor belt is on a level with the upper margin of the side member |0b. As the sand is moved outwardly along the belt 32 it will be deflected by the deflectors 35 and will pass through between said deflectors throughout the length of the chute II! and will be distributed at a uniform thickness over the roadway throughout the width of said roadway.

When the load of sand in the truck body 8 has been exhausted the truck may be detached from the spreader and a loaded truck hitched to the spreader and its load gradually discharged into the hopper 6 as the spreader is vmoved along under the power of the truck connected to it. The work of spreading the sand may thus proceed in a substantially continuous manner.

A slightly modified form of spreader is desirable for covering a green concrete roadway with earth. For this purpose the earth will be plowed up along side the roadway and conveyed onto the concrete road thus at the same time forming the Operating over the drums 23 and 28, as

road ditches. For this purpose the spreading apparatus may be mounted on a conventional type of road grading machine such as is illustrated in Figures 9 and 10 and which has an arched type carriage 38 supported by rear carrier wheels 39, 39 and hitched to a tractor 40 usually of the caterpillar type. Secured to one side member of the carriage are vertical standards 4!, 4| which are preferably formed of angle iron as shown in Figure 8. A supporting rod 42 is securely anchored at its ends to the carriage 38. The lower ends of the standards 4| are supported by this rod and are provided with notches wherein the rod is seated. The rod has one or more turn buckles as 43 for regulating its tension. The chute extends out laterally from the grader carriage and has the side members Illa, "3b as in the form shown in Figure 2. Their inner ends are mounted on a transverse shaft 44 which is mounted in side bearings 45, 45 carried by the standards 4| At their outer ends the side members have suitable transversely aligned bearings to receive the shaft 29 which has the drum 28 fixed thereon between said members and one end of the shaft 29 has the sprocket wheel 30 fixed thereon. The outer end of the chute is supported by chains 46, 46 whose outer ends are connected thereto and whose inner upper ends may be wound about a shaft 41 rotatably mounted in suitable bearings in side members 48, 48 of the top frame mounted on the main carriage 38. The rear end of the shaft 41 has a hand wheel 49 accessible to the operator whereby the shaft 41 may be rotated and the elevation of the chute regulated and thus maintained at the desired elevation above the paving. The shaft 41 may be held against backward rotation by a conven tional rack and dog arrangement commonly used for the purpose but not shown.

The chute shown in Figure 7 is also equipped with the diagonal deflectors 36 whose forward ends are suitably secured to the side member I01; and whose rear ends are anchored to the diagonal brace 31 as hereinabove explained.

There is a supplemental frame composed of side members I00, I00 whose upper inner ends are provided with bearings through which the shaft 44 extends thus providing a pivotal mounting for the supplemental frame. The outer ends of the side members ||lc have aligned bearings 58, 50 to receive a transverse shaft 5| and flxed on this shaft between the side members lllc is drum 52.

Fixed on the shaft between the side members Hie, Inc there is a drum 53. An endless conveyor belt 54 is mounted to travel around the drums 28, 52 and 53 and the return run of this belt is supported by a transverse roller 55a which is fixed on shaft 55 mounted to rotate in transversely aligned bearings 56 which are fixed on the standards 4| and the return run of said belt is also supported by the shoes 35, 35 all of which is shown in Figure 7. The supplemental frame of the side members lllc is supported, and may be elevated and lowered, by chains 51, 51 whose lower ends are connected to said side members and whose upper ends are wound about a longitudinal shaft 58 rotatable in suitable bearings in the side members 48 of the top frame. A hand wheel 59, accessible to the operator, is fixed on the rear end of the shaft 58. The receiving end of the conveyor belt 54 may therefore be elevated and lowered into the desired relation with the ground surface. The shaft 58 may be held against reverse rotation by means of a suitable conventional rack and dog arrangement provided for the purpose.

In this form the rear end of the shaft 44 is extended and fixed on said extended end are sprocket wheels 60, 6|, the latter of which is aligned with the sprocket wheel 30 and a sprocket chain 52.0perates over the sprocket wheels SI, 30 and transmits rotation from the former to the latter. The sprocket wheel 60' is driven by a sprocket chain 63 which operates thereover and which in turn is driven by a sprocket wheel 54 on the shaft a of the motor 4. Through the gearing described the belt or apron 54 may be driven.

The grading machine is equipped with a convention'al disc plow 65 which is set at a forwardly diverging. angle relative to the line of travel of the machine. This disc forms va furrow and throws the earth onto the adjacent lower end of the belt 54 and the earth is carried up along the upper run ofthe belt and is successively engaged by the deflectors 36 and spread over the green concrete of the roadway at a uniform thickness throughout the length of the chute.

Means have been provided for evenly distributing the earth over the belt 54 before it reaches the deflectors 35. For this purpose there are upstanding standards 66, 66 secured to the side members I00, I00 and mounted in suitable transversely aligned bearings in said standards there is a transverse shaft 61, one end of which is extended and has a gear wheel 68 fixed thereon in mesh with and driven by a corresponding gear wheel 69 fixed on the shaft 44, and whereby rotation is imparted to the shaft 61. This shaft has radial blade-like arms H, H thereon. These arms are pitched in a direction tospread the earth each way from the central line of the belt 54. The-earth thrown by the-disc65 will be thrown onto the center-of the belt 54 in a ridge which will be distributed to a uniform depth across the belt so that asthe earth is deflected by the deflectors 36 it will be distributed onto the paving'beneath uniformly.

Usually the chute of the form shown in Figures 6 and 7 will be of a length to extend only to a point about midway of the paving so that only one side of the paving will be covered while the machine is operating on one side of the road.

Thereafter, the machine may be transferred to the other side of the highway and operatedin the other direction and the other side of the paving then covered v The drawings anddescription are illustrative merely, while the broad principleof the inven-' carriage,- a frame extending laterally from the carriage, means for delivering said material to theframe, an endless conveyor belt on the frame to receive said material, a distributor arranged to distribute the material uniformly across the belt from one margin to the other margin thereof, deflectors extending over the belt in front of the distributor and engageable with thematerial carried by the belt to discharge the material laterally from the belt, the deflectors extendingover the belt varying distances whereby said lateral discharge of the material is substantially the same throughout the length of the frame;

3. A spreader for earth material comprising a carriage, a chute extended laterally from the. carriage and having upstanding side members;

one of which extends up above the level of the upper margin of the other, an endless conveyor belt mounted to travel between the side members of the chute, means for driving the belt to convey earth material thereon from one end toward the other, or discharge, end of the chute, a diagonal bar one end of which is anchored to the side member of the lower level, said bar diverging from said last mentioned side member toward the discharge end of the chute and having its other end anchoredto the other side member, a series of deflectors above the belt which are anchored;

at one end, to said bar and which diverge forwardly therefrom and whose other ends are anchored to the side member of the lower level,

said deflectors being arranged with their lower the chute, means for driving the belt to convey earth material thereon from one end toward the other, or discharge, end of the chute, a diagonal bar one end of which is anchored to the side member of the lower level, said bar diverging from said last mentioned side member toward the discharge end of the chute and having its other end anchored to the other side member, a single series of deflectors above the belt which are anchored, atone end, to said bar and which diverge forwardly therefrom and whose other ends are anchored to the. side member of the lower level, said'deflectors being arranged with their lower margins adjacent the belt and gradually increasing in length toward the discharge end .of the chute, whereby the material on the belt will be gradually discharged over the side member of the lower level in substantially a uniform sheet along the chute, and a distributor arranged in advance of the deflectors for distributing the material uniformly across the belt from one margin to the other margin thereof.

CHRISTIAN M. HARVEY. 

